Belonging to You
by IceMaidenOfLegend
Summary: She knew nothing but regret for her actions.


Belonging to You

Vaughn had been away for an unusually long time. He was meant to have returned three days earlier. The ship had been there. It had even arrived ahead of schedule due to the perfect weather. There was no one prepared for the early arrival. They thought that the ship just hadn't arrived.

It was only the next day that they learned the truth. He hadn't come home. He was out there in the wide world. There was no reason for his absence. They had no way of finding out his whereabouts. His company was the hands-on kind; all staff went out to work. They all travelled and were all away.

Chelsea had chosen to wait on the beach. She stood there in the early mornings whilst the air was still misty. She stood there late at night when only the stars and moon lit the world.

* * *

"Ah, I remember that, Taka. Your grandfather was always a source of amusement," Chelsea laughed.

The inn was well lit. Beautiful rays of light flooded in from the window. They splashed across the wooden floor and all those who were present.

"He's not amusing," Candice protested haughtily. "He's an idiot. He's always been an idiot."

"He's sixty three! You can't blame him for being a little bit clumsy!" Dexter, Taka's brother, glowered. "You hadn't even met him until last month!"

"That's enough. Your parents wouldn't want to see you like this," Chelsea chided; her youth was reflected in each one of them.

The youth of the island was gathered in her room. Their bright, fresh faces were filled with a myriad of emotions. They had gone in search of tales. It was a well-known fact that no one could recite the island's recent history like Chelsea.

"You shouldn't talk about Elliot like that," Chelsea frowned. "He was never the most out-spoken or confident person, I'll grant you that, but he was strong. He was the go-to guy. Natalie was never the kindest to him but he wouldn't let her stop him. That, children, is bravery."

"Chelsea," Jean junior whined. "I'm nineteen… None of us are kids."

She laughed heartily. The wrinkles around her eyes deepened. If it weren't for their daily visits she wouldn't so easily forget her age. Her tales of her, and their parents, youth always deceived her aged mind. She sighed as her laughter faded and tucked her grey hair behind her ears.

"Jean… Your father is someone that I will never forget. He snuck into café at all hours and the diner as well! Pierre and Natalie were always out looking for him," she shook her head in disbelief.

"You've told us this before…." Michelle, the youngest adolescent at fourteen years old and Sabrina's granddaughter, pouted. She was only visiting and would have to leave soon. "Can't you tell us something new?"

"Something new?" she frowned. "Are you thinking of something in particular?"

For a moment there was silence. Chelsea had never struggled to remember a tale before. They didn't know whether to be worried or not. Her eyes were still bright and shining with mischief. She could merely be teasing them.

"What about you?" Olivie giggled, her infanthood allowing her to bounce on Jean senior's knee.

His head snapped up at once. His eyes were wide with alarm but Chelsea waved the question off. She leant back into her rocking chair. Her eyes turned to the ceiling. It was the most personal of all questions. Perhaps, even, it was the only one that she had any reluctance to answer.

Jean didn't know. Kelly, Ross, Rita, Daria, Brook and Emma were clueless as well. She could still remember them racing to meet her. Their varied ages had given her no end of grief. Rita, Daria and Brook wanted more exciting tales whereas the children, who really were children at that point, weren't quite ready for such stories.

No one else in Chelsea's generation understood either. There were always clues available to them. However, they couldn't piece them together. The truth was too preposterous.

"Do you want us to leave? We-" Jean senior enquired cautiously.

Chelsea wasn't listening. "I had no interest in marriage. No one was… suitable,"

The room was silent. The sound of breathing was low and restrained. She had never spoken of her personal life to such an extent. The last barriers of her privacy were being torn away. She was entirely exposed from the moment that she chose to disclose the truth.

"No… That's a lie," she murmured softly, distantly. "There _was_ someone. His name was Vaughn. He was a livestock dealer. He took animals to different places to sell. He was Julia's cousin and when he came on Wednesday's and Thursday's he stayed in Mirabelle's home. I wasn't like your grandparents. It took me a long time before I could say anything to him. He wasn't the best at expressing his feelings and he very much liked his privacy."

Candice leant forward curiously. "What happened? You look sad, nana,"

Her nickname brought a smile to her face. She was the adopted grandmother of all the island's children. Those who spent their childhoods on the island would always return. They would bring their families and greet her. She was as much a part of their childhood as their parents were.

"It was the autumn of my second year. I remember finally speaking to him," she mused.

* * *

"_Vaughn…" Chelsea whispered._

_Her hands were clasped tightly in front of her. She was biting down on her lip. The feeling of her heart attacking her ribcage was dizzying._

"_What is it?" he frowned, glancing over his shoulder._

"_I… I…" she was regretting her decision to confess outside of Mirabelle's house._

"_I have somewhere to be," he glowered, turning his back._

"_I love you!"_

* * *

"That's so sweet," Michelle sighed.

"I ran away before he could respond. He must have been so surprised!" she chortled. "I don't know which one of us had the greater fright. I certainly had no intention of being so bold. I don't think I'd ever been so audacious before… Oh, sorry, Taka, Dexter; I'd forgotten about trussing Elliot up to the roof."

A muted laughter rippled through the crowd. They were close to bursting their guts but knew better than to distract her with that particular event. Her history with Vaughn, a man whom no one spoke of, was far more interesting.

"What happened after you confessed?" Taka grinned eagerly.

"We had five and a half happy seasons," Chelsea replied gently.

"You had five and a half seasons? Did something happen?" Jean senior enquired.

"I grew up," she smiled sadly in response.

* * *

_Chelsea froze. She could hear Julie and Vaughn in the back of the house. There were few people that knew of the revolving wall that lead to the barn behind the house. It was hardly ever used in case thieves ever discovered it. They would never be careless about leaving the revolving wall half open._

"_This promotion will pay better," Julia argued. "You need the money, Vaughn. You're going hand to mouth as it is!"_

"_I'm not taking it. Didn't you ever consider that I like coming here? This island is the closest thing that I have to a home. These people are my first true friends and family. You want me to give all of that up?" he snapped. "Who gave you the right to look through my mail anyway?"_

"_You gave up the promotion you accepted a year and a half ago! You haven't even told us why!" Julia exclaimed. "All of your debts could have been cleared up by now! We're doing our best for you but with only one farmer on the island we're close to going under too!"_

"_Then go under," he snarled. "I'm not taking the promotion. I won't pay your bills by taking on something that I don't want."_

* * *

"Your grandma's mean, Candice," Taka mumbled.

"Shut up," she snapped.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned back to Chelsea. Her steely gaze was warning enough. She wanted her grandmother's respect and dignity restored and she wanted it soon.

"He would have been fired anyway if he didn't like the job," Jean junior commented.

He did want the job," Chelsea explained. "I could see it in his eyes that he was meant to have that job. It was his destiny or his fate. Call it what you want but that was the place where he belonged. I, with my foolishly rash confession, held him back from his vocation. I was selfishly holding him back from all that he deserved and wanted."

"What did you do?" Candice was subdued; her eyes were filled with sincere concern.

"I did what I had to," she smiled.

It was a mysterious smile that came without warning and made no sense. It was also a smile of endings. They wouldn't hear any more from her. The tale was over. Her words had finally run out.

* * *

_I don't love you_

* * *

The wind was cold. The sky was dark and the only light came from the stars and moon. The sound of the waves resonated as they rolled in and out of the beach. It was a pale ghostly road that led to infinity – that led to where he was.

Chelsea's eyes stung with tears. The night was just as she remembered it when she used to look out for him. He was meant to visit the island two final times before moving onto his promotion. He didn't come. No one heard from him again.

Chelsea shivered. She drew her shawl around her shoulders more tightly than before. The sea was not a road, she knew. It wouldn't lead her to his side. She had given up the right to be by his side long ago and she had done so willingly.

The sea was a cinema screen. She could reach out and touch the past. They were all happy in their wild days of youth. For a time she was happy too. Then her heart ran away to a place that she could never be. Her friends married and had families. Shea, Mark, Denny, Elliot, Pierre, Julia, Natalie, Sabrina and Lanna married. They had children and she was still trapped in a life that had shattered around her.

"I love you…" her frail voice whispered to the sea.

_- We had the wrong notion that stubbornness equated love. But if there was love, why was there a need for stubbornness? Saying "I don't love you" would not affect the quality of the love itself. As long as love exists, nothing will change. What more mere words? We can love a person until love transcends into no longer loving them. –_

_[Seven of the Sky]_

**Author's Note: I find Seven of the Sky / Female Celestial Flying Outside the Sky (-_- English title - Fairy From Wonderland) to be… irritating. I can't get past the first episode. However, this concept of love is truly inspiring. I find that w****ǔ****xi****á**** provides the best love stories in the world. My words may be biased but I sincerely and whole-heartedly stand by them. This is the concept for this story. Love can transcend into no longer loving and with that you can let the person go. Unfortunately, as you can probably tell, that wasn't a concept that Vaughn understood and I'm not surprised. He isn't the best and can be described as 'emotionally constipated'. I'm sorry if this feels rushed because he didn't try to under the letter and didn't even ask if she was the one who wrote the letter. I'm sorry if you aren't pleased with this story. I hope that you enjoyed my work. Thank you for reading.**

**Part of the Revival Collection.**


End file.
